Kelsey Hebert, a USA Archery Level 2 instructor at Eunice Archery Range and Gear, draws her bow during a practice session. Hebert is an avid deer hunter. (Photo by Claudette Olivier)

State female hunters grow by 6,000 since 2010

In 2005 female hunters spent more than $278M on hunting equipment
By Claudette Olivier Claudette.Olivier@EuniceToday.com

Since at least 2010, female hunter numbers in Louisiana have gone up, from 14,536 to 21,335 last year.
That number could also increase by anywhere up to 3,267 because 3,267 license purchases were made last year with no gender confirmation.
At the same time, the number of male hunters has remained a bit stagnant since 2010, and depending on how those “no gender confirmation” numbers are sliced, the number of male hunters in Louisiana may actually be down from 2010. In 2010, there were 157,233 male hunting license holders in the state, give or take the 4,202 with no gender confirmation.
In 2014, there were 154,192 male license holders, give or take those 3,267 with no gender confirmation.
In the 2006 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation, authors of the survey report posed this question under a subhead that read “Key to the Future: Female Hunters” — Are females hunters increasing in numbers? The answer turned out to be yes. The number of female hunters nationwide went from 1.2 million in 2005 to 1.5 million in 2010.
“Women hunting is the best thing that could happen to our sport,” Nick Pinizzotto, president and CEO of the U.S. Sportsman’s Alliance, said a recent USA Today Network article.
More hunters means more people to help bring in future hunters and teach the next generation of outdoorsman and women about conservation. Hunters also add to the tax coffers by spending money on hunting expenditures and through the sale of hunting gear and hunting licenses, and some of this cash goes to conservation efforts. In 2005, the latest information available, female hunters in the United States spent more than $250 million on hunting trip-related expenses and $278 million on hunting equipment, according to a 2006 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service report.
The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries rolls out the welcome mat to the state’s outdoors women via the Becoming an Outdoors program. The three-day program, started by Christine L. Thomas, a professor at University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, and introduced to Louisiana in 1994, is held at Camp Grant Walker in Pollock each year. The program provides opportunities for women to learn skills in hunting, fishing and other outdoor activities. Some of these women take the class purely for their own self interests and others want to be in the know when they are in the field with the significant other or children.

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